Lessons From A Communications Campaign For South Africa's Rural Poor

This report describes the experience of The Atlantic Philanthropies and 16 non-governmental organizations using communications to advance social justice in South Africa, and shares lessons relevant for funders, nonprofits and advocates around the world interested in using communications to elevate a human rights issue. The publication highlights the Farm Life in South Africa Project, a campaign Atlantic funded over a number of years to raise awareness of the plight of South Africa's rural poor, including the unjust and unlawful evictions of nearly one million farm dwellers in the decade after South Africa adopted its new constitution in 1994. Incredibly, the widespread problem of farm dweller evictions was almost invisible until a group of NGOs in South Africa banded together with support from Atlantic to tell the story of evicted farm dwellers. This report is an entry in the Atlantic Reports series; learn more at www.atlanticphilanthropies.org/atlantic_reports.